Is Saban Out Of His Prime?

Yesterday, a friend and i were talking about all-time great college football coaches from Switzer, Osbourne, Carrol, Brown, Bear and Saban. There's one thing in common we both came into conclusion with, all these coaches besides Saban, not one of these coaches, coached past the age of 72.

Saban is 68 and looks great, still jogging, still yellin and still full of life. He's an old fashion sort of guy, hates messaging, doesn't really use his email and not really tech savvy. Which can go against him for a multitude of reasons.

Recruiting.

Having a common connection with players and staff.

When you look at recruiting, this isn't your mom and pop style "play for the coach" recruiting anymore. Kids want championships, endorsements and the quickest route to the NFL. I'm sure Nick understands this, but has he really adopted better ways to recruit these 4 and 5 starts? In a recent article from AL.com, apparently Saban sent former players to recruit for him. Secondly, when it comes to connecting with players, you're gonna need a common denominator, luckily Saban and his players have the common love for football and competition. Besides loving football, competition and championships what else can a 18 year old and a 68 year old have in common or bond about.

“I’m not looking to get out. I’m really not, even though I know that’s going to start being talked about more now,” said Saban. “What I have noticed is that it’s the first time people are starting to say to recruits, ‘He won’t be there the whole time you’re there,’ because of my age. Does that really impact your ability to stay good? I don’t know. But if it did, it would make you say, ‘Well, what’s up with this?’ My philosophy is that I’m going to be here for as long as I feel like I can be effective, impact the players, help them be more successful in life and continue to have a successful program.”

Truthfully, I think Saban's got 6 years left in him at Alabama. Which is pretty damn good.